The Lacuna

A Novel

"The story of Harrison William Shepherd, a man caught between two worlds -- Mexico and the United States in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s -- and whose search for identity takes readers to the heart of the twentieth century's most tumultuous events"--Provided by publisher.

Opinion

From the critics

Community Activity

Comment

I almost cannot believe this is a novel as it incorporates so much of true life. Many twists and turn and again this book ends up being so relevant today w/ the topics Kingsolver incorporates. It is enlightening from a historical point of view. Easy to warm up to many of this book's diverse characters. She covers a lot of territory in a compelling manner.

A master story teller at work! Kingsolver sucked me right into the lacuna – the gaps and tunnels – where truth lives, unseen and suppressed. The way this control is rife in the media has always been a favourite rant of mine, so I gobbled up her adamant presentation of this theme in many different scenarios. It has been decades since I’ve skimmed against the topics of Aztec history, the citizens’ war effort of the 1940s, the art and politics of Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Stalin vs Trotsky, McCarthy’s purge of innocent citizens during his rabid “un-American activities” era … Kingsolver made this all come alive for me through her fictional protagonist. A great read!

The Lacuna is a marvellous read. It is also an award winner. Much of the book takes place in Mexico and Diego Riviera and Frida Kalho figure prominently. It ends in the 1950's during the McCarthy era when Communist witch hunts were the norm in the US. Highly recommended.

A tour de force that takes the reader from the artistic worlds of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera to America during the McCarthy trials. Harrison Shepherd's young life is a series of misadventures until he finally manages to ingratiate himself into Rivera's studio as a plaster mixer for the artist's murals. The Rivera household soon becomes a haven for the exiled Lev Trotsky. With Trotsky’s assassination, Harrison is forced to flee the country; when the Americans uncover his Communist background, he again finds himself on dangerous ground. A provocative, insightful, fascinating and epic journey.

I loved this book. It's a 500-pager so I renewed it twice. I started slowly and then couldn't put it down because the tale is ultimately so moving. I learned new viewpoints on so much of our country's early 20th century history -- so alternative to what we got in school. It was interesting to learn about WW1 soldiers who were tear-gassed in Washington DC when they demanded their rightful pay, to the tragic circumstances of Trotsky's family as all his children were killed by Stalin, the missed opportunities for relations with Russia before the Cold War launched, the tribulations and triumphs of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and finally the impact and horror of the McCarthy anti-communist crusade on this country's psyche. This book is worth the time to pursue it to the poignant end.